Tumbleweed Christians

When I was a lad I traveled with my mom and dad to visit family and friends in the Midwest.  As we drove through the Mojave Desert I remember seeing large tumbleweeds rolling and hopping along on their lonely, uneventful journey across the hot sand in whichever direction the wind blew.  I called them tumbling tumbleweeds; having no roots to secure them in one place and at the mercy of the wind.  They were dried up bushes with no life in them.

There are Christians that hop from church to church much like tumbleweeds hopping from place to place.  They are looking for the perfect church to put down roots and call home.  In their ongoing search, these unhappy, unsettled people run into the same problem with every congregation they join.  It’s called imperfection. 

Most churches have their share of individuals that appear to have Godly values at first glance, but are deceivers of truth.  Their desire is to serve themselves through sexual and immoral gratification.  These carnal Christians, better known as hypocrites, profess Christianity, but hold onto the things of the world.  They cling to Christianity with one hand and clutch the world’s pleasures, in secret, with the other.  Their conduct is deceitful and dishonest, while putting on a facade resembling holiness at church; yet condemning others for lesser offenses. 

Tumbleweed Christians can only focus on the hypocrites in a church rather than seeing the good that the church is doing in the community.  Carnal Christians are quickly spotted and prejudged by Tumbleweed Christians, which cannot justify being around double minded people having carnal tendencies.  They soon leave the church in search of another one that is free from worldly influence.  

The sad commentary of Tumbleweed Christians is that their happiness is contingent upon whether or not there are hypocrites present, which ultimately affect their spiritual outlook on churches.  They allow these people to dictate the length of time they stay at any one church.  When discontentment begins to shroud them, they leave, and their uneventful hopping continues. 

Like the tumbleweed, after they have been blown in all directions, they begin to wither and dry up spiritually.  They lose the ability to set down roots, because of the lack of spiritual sustenance that is needed in every person’s life.  They fail to stay long enough to allow their roots to find this spiritual nourishment.  Always looking at other people and judging them for their lack of commitment to God and church, these Tumbleweed Christians need only to look in a mirror and they would not be so quick to judge others.

Another reason a Tumbleweed Christian never establishes longevity in one place of worship is because their feelings get hurt easily.  They are prone to become extremely offended should someone in church speak ill of them, or spread idle gossip about them.  They are also sensitive and petty-minded when the leadership of the church fails to recognize and implement their ideas concerning matters of the church. 

As they enter into the stage of sulking and begin their pout, it does not take long before these Tumbleweed Christians decide to venture out and hop to another church that is more to their liking.  They don’t realize that they themselves are the real problem.

These restless, easily hurt Christians believe that everyone else is to blame for their discontentment.  They act hastily, because of their impulsive nature; slow to rationalize, because they lack patience.  They point their finger at others; yet, fail to see their own three fingers pointing back in their direction.  They only see the faults in other church members; never themselves.

While eating dinner at home, Tumbleweed Christians often feast on the problems at church and most everyone attending the church.  Discussions center on all the negative happenings rather than the blessings that God is pouring out.  They capitalize on insignificant matters; not conversations pertaining to God, whereby, allowing Him to be foremost in priority.

Their children are in a constant state of turmoil that is generated by negative talk.  It is no wonder they drift away from God in later years.  Indifference in children begins with their mom and dad’s inconsistencies concerning church.  Children learn by example.  It is sad when a family fails to attend church on Sunday morning, because the level of importance is at the bottom of things to do on weekends.

In that there is no perfect church to be found anywhere, a man and woman must establish themselves in a church that is well-grounded upon the teachings of the Bible.  It must also have an active youth group that loves God and shares their faith with those outside the church doors. 

Children must be allowed to establish roots of their own and become grounded in faith at an early age.  They must be taught that God is most important and that other things should be secondary to their faith and love for God.  Uprooting a child, because a parent has tumbleweed tendencies is ludicrous.  These parents need to grow up and look at the bigger picture.  Regular church attendance is a must; showing by their example that it is important to establish roots.  They need to involve themselves and display faithfulness toward church activities. 

By not establishing one place of worship as being the home church, and choosing to hop from church to church, it sets precedence in the mind of a child that church is not important.  They are watching every move and listening to every negative conversation about church and the leadership.  People must refrain themselves from becoming a Tumbleweed Christian for the sake of the little-ones.  The words and actions of church hoppers not only affect young minds in negative ways, but other people tend to follow their lead.  We are not an island unto ourselves; we influence those around us.

A healthy, spiritual foundation begins in the informative years of a child.  When a child is kept in Sunday school and midweek youth activities at church, the dividends outweigh the desire to hop around.  Roots firmly planted allow maturity to flourish both mentally and spiritually in children.  They are what matters most! 

(Proverbs 22:6), “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Written by,

Papa Boyd